VIEW FROM THE PRESSBOX

The Guardian

This was a bruising night for Manchester United, both for their supporters and their players. While the fans fought ugly skirmishes with riot police, Paul Scholes's 34th-minute sending-off subjected Sir Alex Ferguson's team to a long, gruelling evening here in Rome and they will cherish the importance of Wayne Rooney's away goal.

Rooney's classy 60th-minute goal, his first in the Champions League since a debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce in September 2004, could be a significant factor when the teams renew hostilities at Old Trafford next Tuesday. United, however, will be without Scholes and Uefa is certain to take sanctions after the clashes in the away enclosure.

The violence, inside and outside the stadium, tarnished a pulsating evening in which Roma confirmed themselves to be accomplished opponents and the Italians could reflect on an array of missed chances to add to the goals from Taddei, their Brazilian midfielder, and Mirko Vucinic, a second-half substitute.

Serie A's second-placed club celebrated at the final whistle, yet 2-1 is not a score that will unduly faze United and Ferguson is entitled to be confident about his team's chances of progressing to the semi-finals. Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, showed that he can trouble the meanest defence in the Champions League and Ferguson must believe his team escaped relatively lightly given Scholes's ignominious contribution.

United have never experienced a seething, whistling pit of frenzy whipped up by a 77,000 sell-out Stadio Olimpico crowd and this was a night when experienced players such as Scholes needed to be at their seen-it-all-before best. Instead the midfielder barely lasted a third of the match. His habit of hacking down opponents has been a stain on an otherwise illustrious career and, even though Ferguson complained about Herbert Fandel's referee- ing, the midfielder had already been lectured for two late tackles before his first yellow card.

Conspiracy theorists, Ferguson included, will note that Fandel was the referee when United were eliminated from the competition against Milan two years ago and Porto the year before. Of more importance, Scholes's absence was a debilitating blow and, within eight minutes, Roma broke menacingly, Mancini crossed from the left and Taddei scored with a deflection off Wes Brown.

In the second half, however, Ferguson's players counter-attacked gracefully, willing to press forward despite their numerical disadvantage and, added to a bit of good fortune, they made sure that, if Roma do hold the advantage, it is only a slender one.

In these moments Ronaldo's ability to occupy the minds of the Roma defenders was particularly important, if only to alleviate the pressure on Edwin van der Sar's goal. The Portuguese winger was always available to take a pass, holding up the ball brilliantly and, when he set off on those powerful leggy surges, he inspired something in the Roma defence that none of his colleagues seemed capable of: trepidation.

The Telegraph

On a turbulent night by the Tiber, Manchester United lost Paul Scholes, they lost the first leg, but they never lost their belief that they can reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. And they can. Wayne Rooney's precious away goal gave them that hope.

Roma will come to Old Trafford next Tuesday and defend as only Italians can, blocking and tackling, niggling and shirt-pulling, anything to protect the narrowest of leads. It was surprising to hear Roma's supporters celebrate long and loud at the final whistle, because they should have scored more against opponents reduced to 10 men for an hour.

Yet this was United, a team stoked with the fire of their manager. Sir Alex Ferguson does not recruit players who surrender meekly. Michael Carrick impressed with his coolness in trying circumstances. Edwin van der Sar, an athletic last line of defence, also excelled.

United's determination was embodied by Rooney. He relished this stage, the tirade of abuse from Roma fans, the challenge that doubled after Scholes deservedly walked for two yellows.

Just when people were beginning to doubt Rooney, worrying whether he had peaked at Euro 2004, the England striker delivered this bravura display, registering his first Champions League goal since that hat-trick on his United debut in the autumn after his pyrotechnics in Portugal. His goal, between efforts from Taddei and Mirko Vucinic, was a gem, chested down and driven in.

Danger lurked in every corner, down every avenue. Francesco Totti, the fans' beloved gladiator, began as the spearhead to Roma's 4-1-4-1 formation, yet also dropped deep to create, so confusing United's centre-halves, Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand. How United missed Nemanja Vidic.

Still the menacing persisted. Cristian Chivu went close with a free kick, following a rash challenge on Marco Cassetti by Scholes, whose inability to tackle was again highlighted, again to costly effect.

The temperature began to rise in the tribunes, the dugouts and on the pitch. Ferguson, angered by a foul on Ryan Giggs, was ordered to calm down by the fourth official. Soon it was Roma's turn to be incensed, when Scholes foolishly went through the back of Christian Wilhelmsson and was deservedly cautioned under the totting-up process.

A man down, United were soon a goal down, Taddei seizing on Amantino Mancini's cut-back and sending a shot goalwards. Van der Sar appeared to have the Brazilian's shot covered, but it caught Brown and deflected in.

But there is real resilience in this side of Ferguson, and they struck an away goal after 60 minutes. Cometh the hour, cometh the man: Rooney. Ronaldo sent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer flying down the right, and the Norwegian's cross was superbly chested down by Rooney, and then lashed past Doni.

But back came Roma. Van der Sar somehow parried Mancini's piledriver, but he could do nothing with Vucinic's adept finish. Next Tuesday will be lively.

The Times

So much went wrong here for Manchester United last night that the first sensation their players may encounter as they awake this morning is relief that their dreams of a treble remain alive.

Such equanimity is unlikely to fill the minds of the club's supporters, after they became the latest English fans to be subjected to brutal treatment by the Roman police, but this was such an uncomfortable evening at times that things could have been even worse.

As with United's tie away to Lille in the previous round, this was a match overshadowed by ugly scenes in the stands and, as on that occasion, Uefa is likely to censure both clubs. But Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to concentrate more on what had happened on the pitch. His team, who lost Paul Scholes to a red card in the first half, were over-run at times by an AS Roma side built around the talismanic talents of Francesco Totti, and it took a display of considerable character to emerge with only a 2-1 deficit.

Ferguson called it a "creditable result", revelling in the goal scored by Wayne Rooney, but Roma showed enough quality to suggest that they could go through after the second leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Ferguson had described this beforehand as "the toughest of all the quarter-finals", illustrating a respect for Roma that has grown over the weeks since he expressed such surprise at their victory over Lyons, the French champions, in the previous round. All the scouting reports indicated that Roma exuded quality and would pose serious questions of United — not least in a tactical sense, given an unusual playing style that features Totti, a playmaker, as their farthest man forward. That is how it transpired, with the Italian team mustering 26 attempts on goal, scoring through Taddei, on the stroke of half-time, and Mirko Vucinic midway through the second half.

The red card put United on the back foot again, having recovered their composure until that point. Michael Carrick had been a calming influence, but his team-mates looked uncomfortable in defence throughout and finally, a minute before half-time, their resistance was broken. They were caught napping by Mancini's quickly taken corner, but it took a clever pass from Totti, inside John O'Shea, to find Mancini again in a crowded penalty area. The Brazilian winger beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and pulled the ball back to the penalty spot, where Taddei beat Edwin van der Sar with the aid of a sizeable deflection off Wes Brown.

It seemed that United's principal objective might now be damage limitation, but that is not their style. They re-emerged after half-time with a new game plan, with Cristiano Ronaldo operating as a lone striker, supported from wide positions by Solskjaer and Rooney.

Ronaldo should have scored four minutes into the second half, after another incisive pass by Carrick, but in the 60th minute that much-needed away goal arrived as Rooney showed composure to chest down Solskjaer's right-wing cross and beat Doni for his first goal in the Champions League proper in 17 appearances since his debut against Fenerbahçe in September 2004. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

A third Roma goal would have left United with a mountain to climb on Tuesday, but, despite Totti's best efforts, it did not come, leaving Ferguson to wipe his brow with relief and start planning for what promises to be a dramatic evening at Old Trafford.